2 Men, Dog Rescued From Burning Boat Off Malibu

MALIBU (CBSLA.com) — Two men and a dog were rescued from a boat that caught fire off the coast of Malibu Tuesday.

The 45-foot vessel was about six miles off Zuma Beach when flames broke out around 7:20 a.m., according to a Los Angeles County Fire spokesperson.

Boat captain Tom Petersen was three miles from the burning vessel when he heard a distress call on the radio.

"Mayday! Mayday! We have a fire on board," Petersen recalled hearing. "The Coast Guard immediately responded and advised everyone to make sure that they have life jackets on board."

He immediately sailed toward the flames and smoke billowing into the sky. When he got to the scene, he saw three heads emerging from the water.

"They both actually had floatation suits on. The dog even had a life jacket on," Petersen said.

He released the steps down to let the men and their dog climb up to his boat before the Coast Guard arrived.

The lifelong seaman said he never thought twice about rescuing the victims.

"In the ocean, there really is something special about boaters looking out for boaters because if something goes wrong, it could be devastating," Petersen said.

He said he is not a hero. "The heroes are the guys who are out there everyday, whose job it is to do those things. Couple minutes behind me, Coast Guard boats; life guards showed up in their boats; fire boats showed up. Those are heroes," Petersen insisted.

No one was hurt.